Posted on 10/26/2003 10:59:35 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
SAN BERNARDINO -- A wildfire roaring through the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains burned more than 20 homes and forced thousands to flee as it leaped through dense residential areas, authorities said Saturday.
The Old Waterman fire erupted at 9:17 a.m. some 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Fed by fierce Santa Ana winds, it devoured 10,000 acres of chaparral in a matter of hours.
The cause of the blaze was unknown, and no injuries were reported. But more than 20 homes were destroyed and at least another 1,000 were threatened, said Georgia Smith, San Bernardino National Forest spokeswoman.
Mandatory evacuations were issued for the area, many residents stayed trying to fight the fire with garden hoses. Some looting of abandoned homes also was reported.
Soot filtered down as far as the Peninsula area of Long Beach, leaving cars painted with ash and residents coughing.
Long Beach-area firefighters have joined the battle against the fires.
The Downey Fire Department dispatched three strike teams, each consisting of five fire engines under the command of a battalion chief, said DFD Assistant Chief Chuck Seely.
Two of the teams were dispatched Friday to fight the "Grand Prix Fire' which reportedly charred nearly 30,000 acres in the vicinity of Fontana and Cucamonga to Lytle Creek. The third team left Saturday afternoon for Waterman Canyon in and near San Bernardino, where at least 240 homes were confirmed destroyed by Robin Renteria, of the U.S. Forest Service. More homes were expected to be burned. This fire also damaged two temporary classrooms and a temporary fitness center at California State University, San Bernardino, and a residence hall was evacuated.
Late Saturday afternoon, the Long Beach Fire Department sent five fire engines and a battalion chief to protect structures from the Val Verde fire in northern Los Angeles County, LBFD spokesman Wayne Chaney said. This fire spread into Simi Valley, threatening homes there and destroying mobile homes. The Val Verde and the Simi Valley fires split and Moorpark, Thousand Oaks were among the communities threatened, according news reports.
Bill Alexander of Southern California Edison said that in the mountains the high wind could cause some of the more than one million dead trees (killed by drought and an invading bark beetle) to topple onto power lines. He said that under the aggravated threat of wind and to prevent the spread of fire, power to as many as 31,000 customers could by cut off. The Santa Ana winds reportedly gusted up to 60 mph in some pass areas.
At least one death was reported in San Bernardino, but that was not confirmed.
Although the Los Angeles County Fire Department issued a "red-flag' alert denoting high fire danger for both the city and county of Los Angeles on Saturday, the greater Long Beach area is not considered to be at risk.
The alert was intended primarily for brush areas, said county fire Inspector Ed Osorio.
"There's not much brush down in Long Beach,' Osorio said.
Other areas of Los Angeles County aren't so lucky, however.
"We have pre-deployed companies to areas susceptible to brush fires,' said Jim Wells of the Los Angeles Fire Department. "Additional units also are sent out whenever there is any type of brush or grass fire.' The Los Angeles City Fire Department beefed up staffing and equipment in the Hollywood Hills, Mission Hills, Sherman Oaks, Laurel Canyon, Beverly Glen and the West Hills areas, said Wells.
Winds of 25 mph and humidity at 15 percent or less were factors that led Los Angeles County fire officials to declare a "red- flag' alert Friday morning, said Osorio.
The Santa Ana conditions were expected to push up temperatures across much of the Southland today and increase the potential for the start and spread of wildfires.
With the northeast winds, "you have a hot air mass moving down through the mountains and picking up speed as it pushes through the passes and canyons,' said Bonnie Bartling of the National Weather Service.
The forecast high for the Long Beach airport today is 93 degrees, she said.
San Bernardino City Fire Chief Larry Pitzer said more than 1,000 firefighters were battling flames along a 12- to 15- mile front.
City officials said the main evacuation center at the local airport was packed and urged families to go to evacuation centers.
San Bernardino County officials requested state fire aid to gain more firefighters because local ranks were depleted, said Jess Campos, city fire battalion chief. The county also asked the governor to declare a state of emergency, and the request was under review, said Eric Lamoureux, spokesman for the state Office of Emergency Services.
OES Fire and Rescue Chief Kim Zagaris said hundreds of fire engines from as far north as the Eureka area were being sent south.
The fire also burned onto the campus of Cal State San Bernardino, and there were reports that a parking lot was on fire.
Winds caused the fire to hopscotch.
"It's jumping a block to a block-and-a-half,' Campos said.
The fire threatened more than 1,000 homes, and thousands of people in San Bernardino and the community of Crestline had been ordered evacuated to the local airport.
Winds were gusting to 45 mph, pushing embers ahead of the fire mass and adding to the pall of smoke from a 16,000-acre fire about a dozen miles away in the Rancho Cucamonga area.
Gerald Moyeda, 52, of San Bernardino, had little hope that the home he'd just signed papers for on Friday survived the flames.
"I'm basically telling myself, it's gone,' he said.
"A tremendous residential area' was threatened by the flames, which also closed Highway 18, said Carol Beckley of the San Bernardino National Forest.
"The air quality is horrific. Here in San Bernardino it looks like its 10 o'clock at night. The ash is just raining down,' Beckley said.
The fire in Rancho Cucamonga, meanwhile, jumped down a hillside into an area of $1 million homes Saturday. It marched into the northern edge of the city, burning at least two homes and forcing hundreds to evacuate. Later, east-shifting winds drove flames into the nearby community of Lytle Creek and burned eight homes there.
There were 3,400 homes threatened in the two communities and in Upland, Beckley said.
In addition, the mountain community of Mt. Baldy was ordered evacuated.
The blaze was only 21 percent contained.
It was the largest of a half- dozen burning throughout Southern California.
Elia Benstead, 40, said she awoke to a wall of flames near the house.
"It looked like Armageddon,' she said. Her family left but returned two hours later to find their home still standing.
Smoke, dust and flames 30 feet high cast an eerie, orange- red tinge over the area. Portions of Interstate 210 were closed, and Interstate 15, the main thoroughfare between Southern California and Las Vegas, was being closed intermittently due to heavy smoke.
Since it began Tuesday, the fire has destroyed 14 homes and one outbuilding. About 1,700 people had been evacuated, county sheriff's spokeswoman Sandy Fatland said.
About 2,000 firefighters and eight bulldozers were carving and burning firelines. Ten minor injuries were reported.
Other wildfires threatened to expand as winds and heat rose.
In northern Los Angeles County, about 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles, a fire near Santa Clarita swelled to 4,200 acres, and a voluntary evacuation was called for more than 300 homes in the town of Piru. The fire was just 10 percent contained. That blaze in steep, rugged At the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, 50 miles north of San Diego, firefighters battled a 4,695-acre blaze that threatened about 300 homes in nearby De Luz.
The fire was 55 percent contained, but altogether about 600 businesses, homes and outbuildings were in its path. Five firefighters were injured and more than 1,300 were on the line.
Do they get 45 days of vacation like the french?
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Grand Prix Fire updated at 12:08 pm 10-26-03 |
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| Status |
Significant Events: |
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| Acres | 52,000 acres | ||
| Cause | Suspected to have started by an arsonist, the fire investigation team made up of the California Department of Forestry, the USDA Forest Service and Rancho Cucamonga Fire continue their search for the person (s) responsible. Any workers or residents of the Hunter Ridge Home area that saw any suspicious activity (such as cars speeding away or suspicious persons) on October 21 between 1 pm and 2:30 pm, are requested to call (909) 881-6900 or contact their local fire station or arson bureau. | ||
| Closures | • Northbound Haven at Wilson • Westbound Wilson to Carnelian • East and Westbound on Banyan between Haven and Rochester • Northbound Milliken at Banyan • Northbound Rochester at Banyan • Northbound Rochester at Highland • Northbound Hermosa at Hillside • Northbound Archibald at Hillside • Northbound Rochester at Vintage • Northbound Day Creek at Highland • East and Westbound on Hidden Farm Road / Almond between Archibald and west City limits • Eastbound Hillside Helman to Hermosa • Route 210 east of Carnelian to the I-15 freeway I 210 from I15 to Archibald in both directions. All East bound traffic on the I-210 is being diverted South bound to Miliken Ave. West bound I-210 to South bound I-15 is closed. Lytle Creek Road is closed to all traffic. Cucamonga Canyon is closed at the gate. Swarthout Canyon Road south of Lone Pine Canyon Road. Glen Helen Road west of I15 Rancho Cucamonga Canyon Road Wardman Bullock Road, Banyan Street are closed. |
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| Concerns | The fire is burning in an area that has heavy brush and timber and is steep, rugged and inaccessible. The work the firefighters are doing is in very difficult and dangerous terrain. Access into this fire is difficult. Even though there is a road across the top of San Sevaine ridge, it is very narrow requiring an extraordinary coordination effort to manage the up and down traffic. The primary and overriding focus is keeping our firefighters safe from harm, while still accomplishing the mission. Major power transmission lines are a concern on this fire because both the DWP and SCE have lines that run through the fire area. There are about three of these lines and while the utilities could probably handle the loss of one of the circuits, loss or shut down of more than one could mean power outages for a million customers. Including the San Bernardino Air Tanker Base that is needed to fight the current fires. |
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| Containment | 23 % containment. Expected containment date is 10-30-03 at noon. | ||
| Cost To Date | To date: $6,500,000 | ||
| Damage | To date: 2 cars destroyed Structures Destroyed: 1 Outbuilding , 16 Homes 1 Helicopter on USFS contract sustained significant damage while on the ground and overrun by fire. (no one was injured) 1 boat on trailer 4 cars damaged |
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| Equipment | 225 engines, 210 hand crews, 27 water tenders, 5 helitankers, 10 helicopters, 1 air tanker, 19 dozers [aircraft fly only during daylight hours & when wind conditions permit]. | ||
| Evacuations | Evacuations remain in place for Lytle Creek. These evacuations are likely to stay in place until after the Santa Ana wind event passes. Evacuations have been lifted and residents only with IDs who live East of Day Creek and North of the I-15 Freeway (in the Fontana and Rancho Cucamonga area) will be allowed to go back home as of 5 pm. Animal control may be reached at 1-800-472-5609. For more information contact: County Fire Information: 909 355-8800 |
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| Flight Restrictions | FAA FAR (Federal Aviation Regulation) 91.137 has been placed around the fire area restricting non-fire related aircraft movement. The restriction will remain in place until all fire activity ceases. | ||
| Fuel | Heavy brush, grass with timber component in upper reaches of watershed. | ||
| Incident Command | Unified Command - CDF, Rancho Cucamonga Fire, USFS and SB County Fire As of 7am 10-22-03 Southern California Interagency Incident Management Team III (Mike Dietrich - Incident Commander, Martin Esparza - Information Officer Incident number CA-BDU-11262 Transfer of command to National Interagency Incident Management Team (Studebaker) took place Sat at 1900. |
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| Injuries | 15 Total. 1 poison oak encounter, 2 bee sting, 3 eye injury, 1 minor burn, 1 heat exhaustion. | ||
| Location Start |
Latitude:34° 9´ 30" Longitude:117° 30´ 48" Fire origin was on Foxborough Drive, Fontana. 10-21-03, 2:22 pm. The Grand Prix Fire is located in the Northern portion of Fontana, California, and into the San Bernardino National Forest. West of Foxborough Drive and San Sevaine Wash, north of Coyote Road, south of Cucamonga Wilderness and south of Duncan Canyon. The fire was named Grand Prix because the initial dispatch was to Grand Prix and Shetland Lane in Fontana. BDF Chief Darrel Mincey reported that the fire started around 14:30 and was already at 80 acres before the first air assets arrived. This fire burned 2443 acres in the first 12 hours. The first operational period of this fire burned in an area that had burned during the Texas Fire in 1982. |
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| Observed Fire Behavior | Limited spotting and torching with extreme fire behavior within the fire perimeter. Fire whirls and erratic fire behavior upslope and at ridgetops. Fire continues to burn in a westerly direction. High winds and low RH recoveries as predicted continue the Red Flag Warning that is in effect through Sunday. | ||
| Personnel | 2,427 | ||
| Planned Actions |
Continue to establish anchor points near threatened communities, power lines and communication sites. Contingency plans for communities west of fire are in development. | ||
| Power Outages |
Power outage in Lytle Creek. 3 High Voltage power lines and Transformers which provide 25% of the power to LA basin are in the fire area. They continue to be a concern to fire managers. |
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| Priorities | • To provide for public and firefighter safety and protection of property. • Keep the public informed about fire activity and evacuations. • Minimize the impact of fire suppression efforts on the forest. |
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| Special | Overview Southern California Edison has announced that it may take the unprecedented step of shutting down power in bark beetle-infested forests in San Bernardino and Riverside counties under hazardous conditions of high, sustained winds and low humidity. SCE’s new protective outage policy is an extraordinary precautionary measure to reduce the risk to lives and property. It affects some 31,000 SCE customers in the San Bernardino and San Jacinto mountains, where more than a million trees are dead or dying. When high winds strike the bark beetle-infested forest, weakened tree limbs and other material are more likely to fall or get blown into SCE facilities. This could result in wildfires. Depending on the duration of these conditions, outages could last from several hours to several days. Intensive communication efforts are underway to notify affected customers, property owners, public safety agencies, legislators and other parties regarding the need to implement this unprecedented safety measure. |
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| Structures Threatened |
3,400 homes 4,900 out buildings 100 commercial Structures Threatened: Lytle Creek, Rancho Cucamonga and Upland, San Antonio and Mt Baldy areas |
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| Weather | Fire Weather Forecast for San Bernardino National Forest | ||
| Agencies Involved | CDF, US Forest Service, California Highway Patrol, San Bernardino County Fire Department, Southern California Edison, Dept of Corrections, San Bernardino Sheriff, Red Cross, Animal Shelter, Flood Control, DWP, Rancho Cucamonga PD, Ontario Police Dept., OES | ||
| Contact | (909) 887-8921, Grand Prix Fire Information Desk or (909) 383-5688 for San Bernardino National Forest Incident Information Desk. San Bernardino County Fire Information Line 909 355-8800 (Recording) Website with updates www.incidentcontrol.com Martin Esparza - Information Officer |
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| Webmaster | webmaster@incidentcontrol.com We do not have access to information on the status of homes or structures. |
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| Special Note |
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That cheap shot is uncalled for. We're talking about tens of thousands of acres of tinder that are confounding the efforts of firefighters to even reach it, let alone battle the fires. Airborne tanker and other directing craft are having a hard time reaching many areas -- the Santa Ana winds (east to west) have been known to blow helicopters out of the sky.
I live in Downey, smack in the middle of the L.A. basin and one of its best-run municipalities, and I'm glad we have 15 trucks -- nearly our whole fire force -- helping out. And the smoke is now starting to reach Downey ... that being a bad sign, as it almost never happens. This signifies truly hellish conditions to our east, in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.
My former son-in-law became a fireman because he had no other marketable skills. It was a perfect job for him - he could hang around the office all day watching TV and lifting weights, and get paid for it.
Most times, his dept. would just watch a fire burn rather than try to put it out.
In this particular fire in CA, it appears that the firemen ran off all the homeowners, then split themselves for some reason that I don't understand. Not enough money in the budget, I guess.
I live in a forest and know that I am on my own if a fire breaks out, and plan appropriately. I built the house with a metal roof, 8" thick log walls, and fibre-cement soffits.
Anyone who depends on a bunch of bureaucrats to save their home is a fool.
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My former son-in-law became a fireman because he had no other marketable skills
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Anyone who depends on a bunch of bureaucrats to save their home is a fool.
I would think you'd be overjoyed the firemen are letting the state, it's citizens and their property you despise burn...
So firemen are no skill bureaucrats?...Do the initials or the vision of FDNY, WTC and 9/11 mean anything to you?
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